I need help my trigger is on his way out!!

[darklcd]

Hey all

I picked up a new trigger fish last week for the first few days he was doing ok but now its a different story. I noticed the other day that he would not eat and his fins are starting to turn white and chunks are now gone.

I took a water sample into my lfs and my levels were a little off but nothing that should have caused any issues so I picked up some "prime", "stable" and some "pimafix" and started treating my tank.

When I started treating my tank he came up when I was pouring the pimafix into the tank and got a huge mouthful by accident. after that he took off into his cave and a rock fell on him. I a long piece of plastic rod with a cloth on the end to move the rock off him and I have been checking on him once or twice a day with this same soft tipped plastic to make sure he can still move which he can but he is leaning up against the rock wall in his cave and will not move at all. His fins are still moving so I know he is still alive but I don't know what else to do.

I have been treating for 3 days not and there has been no improvement if anything the "white" on his fins seems to be spreading from his back fins to the fronts as well. He has not eating anything in 4 days and I am worried I am going to lose him.

What else can I do?

 

[Inconservatory]

Well, prodding the little guy is only going to stress him out, exacerbating the situation. So let him just chill for the moment.

If his fins have turned white and are falling off in chunks, then it sounds like it could be a nasty infection. You may have to put him in a QT tank and apply some methylene blue or maracyn and keep the water changes up (do not treat maracyn in the MT, as it will kill the beneficial bacteria).

The difficult part of setting up a carnivore tank is the waste factor. They are hungry, messy eaters. They produce a lot of waste, so their thanks would need to have more water changes than a reef tank in order to keep the nitrates down. If you have a sump with macro algae, sponges, feather dusters, or any other cleanup critters, that would cut down on it, but you wouldn't really be able to keep any sort of clean up crew with an undulated trigger any ways.

What are you using to treat him with? You may be able to get him to eat using feeder mollies, guppies, or ghost shrimp. Try not to crowd his space so much. The best thing you can do is just keep up on the water changes and make the tank a stress-free zone.

 

[Inconservatory]

You may also want to post this in Lee's forum. He's a great help in these situations.

 

[ac7av]

Man I hat to hear that kind of stuff. Does sound like an infection. Maybe talk to your local vet and see what they thing and maybe can give you something.

 

[07FocusST]

They are usually very hardy fish. I have had many Triggers including Picasso's, Clowns, Blue Jaws and a Queen. It may already have had trouble before you bought it.

 

[darklcd]

the colour as come back a little bit now but he not out of the woods yet. he can still swim which is a good thing but we will have to see.

Anyone know any good remedies that might work?

 

[returnofsid]

As has already been mentioned, post this in Lee's Fish Forum. He'll need as much information as you're able to provide, including tank information.

 

[Inconservatory]

What foods are you feeding?

 

[darklcd]

At the moment he is not eating anything and when I do try and feed him it just ends up on the bottom of the tank. I have krill, scallops as well as some raw shrimp. I am not sure what else to do he is starting to get a little colour back I think but it looks like the infection is starting on his eyes and that is a very large concern.

 

[Shane and John]

This is not general discussion...this needs to be in Lee's forum so you can try to get on the right track to get this corrected...

 

[Inconservatory]

+1 on posting in Lee's forum. Link to this thread in your initial post!

 

[darklcd]

Thanks for the advice all but its not going to make any difference I came home from work today and he was gone. Thanks for the help but I think its time to get rid of this tank and take a break from reef keeping for a while

 

[ac7av]

Sorry for you loss
Just take a break and breath, have a drink, sit in your favorite seat in your house and just relax for a bit. Take a deep breath and imagine what kind of tank would make you happy. Put that information on paper, or email it to your self and if you like what you see tomorrow then just stick to your list or idea. No impulse buys and only get what is on your list. It took me a couple of tries but when I figured this out I am so so so much happier with my setup. Some people, I’m sure wonder what the heck I’m doing with all these damsels and stupid cheep little fish but I love it. It is so interesting to watch that even all the kids in the house will watch them every day.

 

[darklcd]

thanks, I know what kind of tank I want but its not going to happen for a long time. I told my wife when he got sick that if he died I would get rid of my 55 gal and everything with it until we have the cash to do a 200 gal so I will be out of it for at least 2 years.

 

[Inconservatory]

Are you sure you don't want to try something a little less demanding, like chromis or clowns?

 

[darklcd]

that trigger should have been fine in there based on what I read they are one of the easiest fish to care for and with our finances the way they are there is no way I can do anything with it right now.

I figure with the lighting and everything else i have I should be able to get a good price for it

 

[fulkerl]

I found that I even enjoyed watching hermit crabs in my tank for 8 weeks while my tanked cleared of ich. many times i thought about quiting, you could keep an eye on the for sell fourm, i see free stuff all the time here. But I under stand when you lose a fish it can be hard to keep going, good luck.